The present invention relates to a supporting apparatus which movably supports an attachment apparatus, such as a display apparatus for text editing, on a basic apparatus, such as a printing apparatus or a word processing apparatus or station, and more particularly, to a supporting apparatus which permits the attachment apparatus to be movable to the proper position for an operator relative to the basic apparatus.
The supporting apparatus of this type has a structure as shown in FIG. 1 in which at attachment apparatus B (e.g., a display apparatus) is fastened to a basic apparatus A (e.g., a printing apparatus) by a supporting apparatus C. More specifically, a holder D is provided on one side of the rear portion of the printing apparatus A, and a vertical shaft or upstanding column F is fitted in the holder D in such a way as to be swivelable around the longitudinal axis X--X of the holder D. A horizontal swivel arm E, which supports at one end the display apparatus B, is fixed at its base section to the vertical shaft F. The display apparatus B can be moved to a proper position for the operator's view by swiveling the swivel arm E together with the vertical shaft F around the axis X--X.
The prior art supporting apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,638 to Scheibenpflug.
According to the supporting apparatus with the above-described structure, holding the display apparatus B at the moved position depends on the friction between the vertical shaft F and the holder D. This friction therefore determines the swiveling position of the arm E.
To allow the operator to smoothly move the display apparatus B to the desired position, the smaller the friction, the better the operation. However, the reduction in friction also decreases the force needed to secure the display apparatus B at the moved position. Accordingly, the display apparatus B is more likely to easily move around by a small force, such as the operator's accidental touch to the display apparatus B or by the possible vibration of the printing apparatus A in use.
On the other hand, if the aforementioned friction is increased to more securely hold the display apparatus B at any moved position, the operator would need greater force to move the display apparatus B to a different position, thus hindering a smoother moving operation.